13 replies to this topic

[DoodleKid]

So I have my little fee waver and I'm set to register, but I have a few questions...

Should I take the SATs in May or June? I want to take the SATs in Stuy because I went to middle school across the street from Stuy, so the area is friendly and familiar to me. I was also in the SHSI program in Stuy for 2 years, so the building isn't too foreign to me either... but all of the seats for Stuy in May are filled.
Is it more important that I feel comfortable while taking the test or is the date more important?

Also, I haven't prepared for it at all. I'm planning on going to an art school, so I've been focusing more on my art than the SATs, since art schools will be looking at the portfolio more than the SAT score... But I don't want to get a horrible score, so does anyone have any last minute tips on what to do to prep for the SATs?

[Leon]

Sit back.. relax..and enjoy life.

[DoodleKid]

Helpful information coming from the dude who wants to take a billion AP's.

Anyone with a real answer?

*600th post*

[ClEMeNt]

I find the date imo more important.
In May, your teachers are still keeping you "hot" in academic things. In June, everything just slacks off and the teachers are more lenient since summer vacation♥ is coming.

But don't let the freaking freshman affect your decisions.

[MaiAndy]

It's good to get a bunch of practice before taking it. The little things will make the biggest difference. For me, it took me 2 years to figure out my timing. I would go to the bathroom at certain breaks, drink water every break and eat on the last break. Also take into account if you take it in June, it may be hot. Stuyvesant at least has air conditioning.

[SamanthaE]

Also, regardless of whether you're taking it in May/June, time is going by pretty quickly. You may want to take into consideration of buying/borrowing test prep books (from the library or friends). Practice, practice, practice. If youre a person who has poor time management skills during tests (like me) then you may want to time yourself every time you take those full length practice exams.

You can still sign up for classes at test prep centers like Kaplan and Princeton Review. Ive yet to try their classes, but I know that they have ongoing prep courses. Some classes end just in time for you to take the test. The course schedules can be found on their respective sites.

[DoodleKid]

@ClemmyTheClamMan
But June is also when finals and regents are occurring, so I doubt teachers will be letting us cool down... But yeah, FINALS and REGENTS, I'm not sure if I should stack the SAT on top of those...
And lol at a freshman talking down to a freshman. (though you were slightly more helpful, so you get half of a cookie)

@Andy
We're allowed to bring food/drinks with us?

@Samantha
I have very poor management skills and I'm trying to get my normal school work done since I haven't been very productive lately, yet I still feel like I'm always low on time. I guess I'll try to find some practice questions/tests online whenever I have some free time on my hands.

[metallicsteel13]

You're allowed to bring food and drinks. It's a 4 hour exam, you can't go through it on an empty stomach. You could probably eat or drink something during the 5 minute break that you have.
For timing and comfort, I think you'll have to decide on your own. I'm sure you want to get this test over as soon as possible, but at the same time, you don't want to feel awkward in a new place. From my own experience, I'd prefer going to a place that I'm familiar with. I went to St. John's to take a practice test since I live pretty close to it and I didn't know what to expect. The desks were small, and we all sat in a cramped lecture hall. I would have preferred to take it at Tech instead. Also, you might as well take the test as many times as you can to get a higher score.

[DoodleKid]

What scores are considered bad, average, and good? Because I've seen a few people on AIM and Facebook acting mad about having higher grades than other people who are happy about their grades...

[NickC]

The higher the better, of course. But it also depends on the schools you are looking at as well and their requirements - which is why its important to do sufficient research.

[MaiAndy]

According to the bell curve, most students get 1300s. A fairly good score would be around 1700-1800. An excellent score would be anything higher.
What Nicky said above is true, higher score is better but it depends on what college you are looking at. Higher score can get you more scholarship money from the school you are applying to.

[tycoonboy388]

The actual median score (not that I'm looking it up) is closer to 1600. Remember as the SAT sections are scored on a 200 to 800, 600 points are eseentially a give away. 1600 suggests 500+ on each section, which tends to correlate with about half the points available in each section. But that isn't an exact science as the scoring rubric changes from testing to testing.

Personally, I wasn't content without breaking 2000, but I wasn't applying to specialty schools, and I was trying to compensate for lower than desired GPA compared to other people that applied to the same schools as me. But as you said that you were applying for art school, and my hunch is that the median scores from their classes are going to be on the low side, so breaking 1600-1700 should put you in a good place.

[NickC]

Although your GPA/SAT has a bearing on your overall package as an applicant, it also plays a crucial role in getting financial aid (of course, based on expected family contribution and stuff). As you may have guessed, I am going to be attending the University at Buffalo in the Fall of 2010. Even though I did get into name brand schools like NYU, UMich, yadda yadda, I found that going to UB based on their financial aid package was the most worthwhile...considering I have to pay pennies going. If I chose to go to NYU, I would've had to dish out 20k a year...not cool.

[Jae]

Another suggestion for practice is taking as many practice exams possible. There's a free practice exam at Collegeboard.com (accessible through a quickstart account).